What's New

September 17, 2012

The Aquarium’s Magellanic Penguins have acclimated well to their home in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat. These are the first penguins in the Aquarium’s collection, and since their debut in May the Aquarium has continued to offer penguin-related programming to help the public learn more about these fascinating seabirds.

A multimedia penguin show continues to play daily in the Aquarium’s Great Hall. This immersive experience features sound, lights, and video projected throughout the hall. The show finishes with an audio segment showcasing penguin calls.

Also playing daily is a penguin movie in the Ocean Theater, which allows viewers to virtually travel across the Southern Hemisphere to see where penguins live in the wild. See penguins in action as they raise their chicks, swim in the ocean in search of food, and cross great distances on foot and “tobogganing” on their bellies.

Visitors can get an up-close look at a Magellanic Penguin by participating in a penguin encounter on Thursday and Friday mornings at the Aquarium for an additional charge. Participate in a feeding and training session and learn about what it takes to care for our animals.

Since their public debut in May the Aquarium’s penguins have gone through their first molt while on exhibit. During this time penguins shed all of their feathers at once while new ones grow in. The younger penguins in the flock (Newsom, Ludwig, and Jeremy) changed their juvenile feathers, which are grey and white, for adult feathers, which are a sharper black and white. The Aquarium staff members who care for the penguins report that now is a great time to see the birds with their new plumage. They also report seeing the penguins swimming fast and porpoising in the water in the early morning hours.